Privacy Policy

Privacy Notice for candidates and individuals wishing to register an interest in working for us.

 

This privacy notice is for anyone who has applied or is considering applying for a position with HCRG Care Group. We value your trust and are committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information.

 

This privacy notice explains:

  • Who we are.
  • Why we collect information about you.
  • How your information will be used.
  • How we keep it safe and confidential.
  • Your rights.

 

Please take the time to review this notice carefully to understand how your information is managed.

If you would like this information in an alternative format – such as large print, easy read, or an alternative language, please let us know using the contact details below.

 

1.Key Definitions:

UK Data Protection Laws:

  • UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).
  • Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 18).

Personal data: Any information relating to an identifiable individual. This might include your name, date of birth, contact details. It can also be location data or an online identifier.

Special categories of personal data are defined as: Racial or ethnic origin, politics, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetics, and biometrics (where used for identification) information concerning your health, sex life or sexual orientation.

Data Controller: An entity or individual that determines how and why personal data is processed.

Data Processor: A entity or individual that processes personal data on the behalf of the data controller.

 

2.Who are we?

“HCRG Care Group” refers to each of the various entities that make up the HCRG Care Group of companies. This includes HCRG Care Group Limited and its subsidiaries (as defined in section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006), as well as VH Doctors Ltd, HCRG Care Group Practices Limited, the Randolph Partnership, Peninsula Health LLP and Assura Reading LLP.

HCRG Care Group Limited is a “data controller” for corporate job applications. This means that we are responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal information about you. You are being sent a copy of this privacy notice because you are applying for work with us (whether as an employee, worker or contractor). It makes you aware of how and why your personal data will be used, namely for the purposes of the recruitment exercise, and how long it will usually be retained for.

 

HCRG Care Group is also contracted to act as a “data processor” on behalf of the other legal entities within HCRG Care Group and is responsible for managing the recruitment process on the behalf of the other data controllers.

 

3.Who can you contact regarding your personal information we hold?

 

The People Team

Via email: Ask.HR@hcrgcaregroup.com

 

Data Protection Officer

Deborah Tonkin

The Heath Business Park
Runcorn
Cheshire
WA7 4QX
Via email: Ask.IG@hcrgcaregroup.com
 

If you are not happy about the way your information is handled, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.  In the UK, this is the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

The Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113 (local rate)
Email: casework@ico.org.uk 
Website: www.ico.org.uk 

 

  1. What happens when you apply for a job with us?

HCRG Care Group has a team of in-house recruiters who look after all of our health and care and corporate recruitment. Occasionally we do need external help with a role and at that point we will partner with trusted agencies with whom we have an existing relationship and who understand our culture and ethos. Applications are generally received through our website or via NHS Jobs through our supporting third party hosted recruitment system “Tribepad”.

Having received your application for a position, we will then process that information to decide whether you meet the basic requirements to be shortlisted for the role.

If you do, we will decide whether your application is strong enough to invite you for an interview.

If we decide to call you for an interview, we will use the information you provide to us at the interview to decide whether to offer you the role.

If we decide to offer you the role, we will then take up references and, where required, carry out a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and occupational health screening before confirming your appointment.

If you fail to provide information when requested, which is necessary for us to consider your application (such as evidence of qualifications, work history and right to work documentation), we will not be able to process your application successfully. For example, if we require references for this role and you fail to provide us with relevant details, we will not be able to take your application further.

 

5.What Information do we collect about you?

We will collect, store, and use the following categories of personal information about you in connection with your application for work:

  • The information you have provided to us in your on-line application and/or curriculum vitae and any supporting covering letter including name, title, address, telephone number, personal email address, date of birth, gender, employment history, qualifications. 
  • Right to work documentation.
  • Any information you provide to us during an interview, interview notes and any supporting test results.
  • References from former employees or contacts.

 

We may also collect, store, and use the following “special categories” of more sensitive personal information:

  • Information about your race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and political opinions.
  • Information about your health, including any medical condition, health and sickness records. 
  • Information about criminal convictions and offences.

 

6.What Is our legal basis for processing your Information?

In order for HCRG Care Group to legally process your information a ‘lawful basis’ needs to be identified.

Our legal basis for processing your personal information falls under one of the following legal bases:

  • It is in our legitimate interests to decide whether to appoint you to work within the organisation since it would be beneficial to our business to appoint someone to that role.
  • We need to process your personal information to decide whether to enter into a contract of employment with you.

 

7.How do we use your Information?

We will use the personal information we collect about you to:

  • Assess your skills, qualifications, and suitability for the role that you have applied for.
  • Carry out background and reference checks, where applicable.
  • Communicate with you about the recruitment process. 
  • Keep records related to our hiring processes.
  • Comply with legal or regulatory requirements.
  • Process payments to your bank account

 

We will use your special category information in the following ways:

  • We will use information about your disability status to consider whether we need to provide appropriate adjustments during the recruitment process, for example whether adjustments need to be made during a test or interview or in preparation for you starting to work with us if your appointment is confirmed.
  • We will use information about your race or national or ethnic origin, religious, philosophical, or moral beliefs, or your sexual life or sexual orientation, to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting.

 

Information about criminal convictions:

  • We may collect information about your criminal convictions history if we would like to offer you the role (conditional on checks and any other conditions, such as references, being satisfactory).
  • For some roles we are required to carry out DBS checks to satisfy ourselves that there is nothing in your criminal convictions history which makes you unsuitable for the role.
  • We have in place an appropriate policy document and safeguards which we are required by law to maintain when processing such data.

 

8.Who do we share your Information with?

The recruitment team will only share relevant personal information with trusted third parties for the purposes of processing your application:

  • Our occupational health provider as part of successful candidate screening
  • Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) HMRC
  • Referees
  • HCRG Care Group teams who provide support services such as payroll, finance, legal, IT Support, claims, insurance, incident and risk management, health and safety and information governance.
  • Payment facilitation services for temporary workers.

 

Where we process data with third parties outside of the UK, we have undertaken due diligence to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place under UK GDPR.

For further detail on any data processors we use, please see Appendix A.

 

9.Where is your data stored and how long we keep it for?

Your information is stored in secure locations and only accessible on a need-to-know basis.

We will keep your healthcare records in accordance with the NHS Records Management Code of Practice for Health and Social Care.

For individuals registering an interest in working for us we apply a 12-month retention period to the data you have submitted. We will contact you via email on a yearly basis giving you the option to remain in our talent pool and update any details with us. If you did not opt in to receiving future emails when registering your interest with us your data will be deleted in 12 months. Alternatively, you can ask for this data to be deleted at any time by contacting us using the contact details at the top of this notice.

 

10.How can I access a copy of my Information?

UK data protection laws provide you with the following rights:

The right to be informed

As a data controller, we are obliged to provide understandable and transparent information about the way we process your data (this is provided by our privacy policy)

The right of access

You are entitled to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

The right to rectification

You are entitled to request changes to information if it is inaccurate or incomplete.

The right to erasure

Where no overriding legal basis or legitimate reason continues to exist for processing personal data, you may request that we delete the personal data.

The right to restrict processing

Under certain circumstances, you may ask us to stop processing your personal data. We will still hold the data but will not process it any further.

The right to data portability

Subject to certain conditions, you may request a copy of your personal data to be transferred to another organisation.

The right to object to processing

You have the right to object to our processing of your data where:

  • Processing is based on legitimate interest.
  • Processing involves automated decision-making and profiling.
  • Processing would be for a purpose beyond your care and treatment, e.g., direct marketing and scientific or historic research.

You can opt-out to the sharing of this information under the National Data Opt-Out. Further information can be found on the following website:
https://digital.nhs.uk/national-data-opt-out

Please note that the above rights may not apply in all circumstances, but we will respond within a month of any requests. If you have any questions or concerns about the information we hold on you, please contact our Data Protection Officer.

 

How to request a copy of your information:

Please email the People Team Ask.HR@hcrgcaregroup.com or write to us at The Heath Business Park, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 4QX.

 

Keep us updated of any changes:

Please let us know if you change your address or contact details etc. so that we can keep your information accurate and up to date.

 

11.Changes to our privacy notice

We will update this privacy notice from time to time to reflect any changes to our ways of working.

 

Date privacy notice last updated: May 2025.

 

Appendix A – Data Processors Used

Magnit Global – Magnit Global support us in arranging temporary staffing solutions through their secure platform Magnit Shift. Candidates will be asked for their consent before using Magnit Shift. Magnit process data in India and in the USA. We have undertaken full risk assessments to ensure data is processed as securely outside of the UK.

TribePad – Online recruitment system used within HCRG Care Group to help support recruiting, interview processes of potential new colleagues and candidates. 

Last update: May 2025